


Draw a Line from Me to You

by Fwizz101



Series: Post-Everything Quarantine [9]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous Gender My Unit | Byleth, Matchmaking, Multi, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fwizz101/pseuds/Fwizz101
Summary: In which you and Claude set a few things up.[originally written 17 March 2020]
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Post-Everything Quarantine [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699816
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Draw a Line from Me to You

**Author's Note:**

> (This contains copious references to various aspects of the game, including story, headcanons, etc.)

“Hello, Claude,” you greet him as usual.

He tilts his head back over the arm of the couch to grin upside-down at you. “Hey, Teach,” he replies as usual despite the fact that you haven’t been his TA for two years.

The brief gap in the conversation is unbearable for both of you, so you gesture at the notepad in his lap. “What’s that? Scheming again?”

“You know me, Teach,” he chuckles. It’s hollow at the end and trails off. “Always working on a scheme.”

Another pause. You try not to look at the paper, but it’s lying in full view of your farsighted eyes. Two columns: Felix Ingrid Dima Teach Hilda dinkus; Dorothea Claude Marianne Sylvain Edelgard? dinkus. Claude writes in pen because it’s permanent. Dimitri writes in pencil because it’s cheaper to replace, you remember with a twinge of sadness. You prefer pencil, which allows you to erase your mistakes. Sometimes you wish you could turn back time.

“Can I ask what it is?” you inquire out of politeness.

Claude humors you and your TA habits. “Nope. It’s a secret.” Both of you know that you’re going to figure it out anyway.

“Three guesses?” you suggest instead.

He sits up, turns, and points at you with the notepad. “Fire away.”

As usual, your first guess is a quip. “Hit list.”

“Nuh-uh.” He plays along by throwing an affronted hand to his chest. “How could you even suggest such a thing?”

You heard from an RA that Claude once poisoned half of his floor to win Assassin. He did win, but he also had to clean the bathrooms in the aftermath of the food poisoning pandemic. No one but Dimitri-- who escaped unscathed, having lost to Annette on the first day-- took pity on him.

“Matchmaking,” you declare.

With a valiant effort, Claude almost restrains himself from winking-- almost. He does anyway, arms propped behind his head. “You got me.” He’s tired.

You slide the pen out of his grip and draw a wobbly line between Felix and Sylvain-- childhood friends who get along better than Felix would admit. He nods. You pair Hilda and Marianne-- spotted on cleaning duty and, Goddess forbid, doing yard work together. Another nod. Ingrid and Dorothea? He grins.

“Dimitri, me, you, and Edelgard,” you read in your TA voice, calm but not droning. Where did you learn how to read upside-down? Your father taught you, you think before you can stop yourself. Before you learned to speak.

Claude sees the grimace flicker across your face. He tries to make light of it, comforting in the best way that he can. “What, are we that unattractive?”

“No,” you answer automatically. Though you’re not a TA anymore, you catch yourself about to avert your eyes.

“I keep trying every combination I can, but none of it clicks,” he sighs like he’s explaining the outline of his research paper to you all over again. “Dima and Edelgard used to be friends, but now they hate each other’s guts. I like her confidence, but the anarchism is a bit too much. Anyway, Dima’s nice, but… well, you know.” He’s avoiding making assumptions about you, and you appreciate it.

“This is a terrible scheme,” you remark.

“You wound me.” He takes the pen back. “Care to tell me why?”

There’s a million reasons why, but you choose the least offensive: “It’s not your job to pair everyone off.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. They’ll find their own paths without my interference. I mean, even if they have trouble, I’ll be fine.” He gives you a cheeky wink. “I hear ladies love an outsider.”

You shake your head, but the corners of your mouth creep up. Claude laughs, full and unrestrained. While he’s distracted, you steal the notepad and the pen again.

“This scheme is flawed, too,” you proclaim as you draw one last line.

“How so?”

You hand the notepad back to him like a lost item-- a gift. “You forgot something.”

Claude smiles. “Thanks, Teach. What would I do without you?”

**Author's Note:**

> Q: What is a dinkus?  
> A: A set of dots/asterisks that divides pieces of a story; it's used in the same place as the "hr" that is familiar to some fic writers.
> 
> Q: Why did you write "dinkus" instead of "ellipsis"?  
> A: Because "dinkus" sounds funnier.  
> Q: But "ellipsis" is probably what was actually written.  
> A: But "dinkus" sounds funnier.


End file.
